Train Low, Race High --- MDA

[Bethany Lannon]

Found this post on MDA the other day. Wanted to get thoughts from other endurance athletes? Have you tried it, did it work for you? He basically claims to have best success when you go through a training cycle on the lower end of carb consumption and then ramping it up a couple days before *as well as* consuming complex carbs, such as a sweet potato and banana, the morning of the race. Obviously the race-day strategy goes against the pre-WO template, but in this scenario, when race day approaches, I will be running for performance, not necessarily to be a fat-burner, if that makes sense. It seems that, to me, the process of training on lower carbs teaches my body to burn fat as fuel instead of sugar, then when I fill my glycogen stores in the days leading up to the race and the morning of, my muscles have higher glycogen stores to start me out, and then when I run out of that, then the transition from carb to fat burning is an easier transition (because of the lower carb training).... If that makes sense at all. Just wondering if any endurance athletes have tried this concept & how it worked for them (or what your thoughts are on this concept)...

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-fuel-a-marathon/#axzz2bKpSDtXJ

[Irish Rose]

I am not an endurance athlete but I do train for three hours at a time sometimes and I went from the whole 30, when I was low carb apart from a sweet potato after training and two pieces of fruit a day to trying to carb load for my grading while within the parameters of the whole 30. I didn't give two hoots about being a fat burner and I just wanted to perform as well as possible. I ate a HUGE sweet potato at all three meals , plus two bananas the day before. Sweet potato again in te morning pre training and dates in the break. I felt good, not short of energy but I didn't have the same energy as I would previously when I would have pre loaded with white rice. Still, it was a success overall and I am happy to still be on track. I will drop the carbs again immediately.